March 28: “So, Susdorf’s swinging a good bat.”

The Main Event

Steve Susdorf (born 1986) – Outfielder who played three games and hit .143 (1-7) for the 2013 Philadelphia Phillies. The following is a free version of what you receive delivered directly to your inbox with a subscription to PBN Extra Innings. Use the link lower down in this post to receive a 50% off price on an annual subscription. Your cost for the first year will be just $22.50. This story was originally posted in The Day Ryne Sandberg Went Over The Edge, which features Steve Susdorf as part of the story.

Please be advised that the language in this story alludes to vulgarities. It is the language used in the situation and I made the decision to include it in a fashion where you know exactly what the word is, but without presenting the exact word. I think you will understand what was said, but your kids might, too. Just wanted to give a heads-up. It was the first, last, and only time anyone in the media had heard Ryne Sandberg swear or even lose his temper. Please do not conclude that this was Ryne Sandberg’s usual type of language – it most certainly was not. It does show the passion that he had for the game and his players.

I have to start this one by setting the scene. Lehigh Valley was at home against the Pawtucket Red Sox and trailed 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Even though the score was close, it was one of those games where nothing went right for Lehigh Valley, managed at the time by Ryne Sandberg.

The umpiring was horrible. Both managers had argued calls as did some of the players. The IronPigs lineup included an outfielder named Derrick Mitchell. While he was a nice player, Mitchell never made it to the majors. Sandberg loved the kid though because he played hard, never failed to run out a groundball, and did everything within his power to help the team. He truly was one of those guys that you root for and genuinely want to see succeed, even though the odds seemed long.

Among the many bad calls, Sandberg argued one of them and for some reason, did not get thrown out. Perhaps the umpire knew he had messed up and allowed the Hall of Famer to have an extremely long leash. There were other calls where Sandberg or other coaches got into it with umpires from the dugout, but never went on the field.

Garrett Mock came on to pitch for Pawtucket in the bottom of the ninth. Mitchell was leading off the inning and Mock’s 3-2 pitch went up and in to Mitchell. Unfortunately, Mitchell made the mistake of pulling his arms in and the ball hit off of his wrist. Mitchell immediately was in obvious pain and after a delay, he stayed in and went to first base. That type of toughness is exactly part of what Sandberg loved about the guy.

Tug Hulett attempted to bunt Mitchell over, but only succeeded in striking out on when he fouled off a two-strike bunt attempt. Tuffy Gosewisch struck out on three pitches and Andres Blanco struck out on four pitches to end the game.

After every game there is a 15-minute “cooling off” period when the media is not allowed in the clubhouse. During that period, the trainer took another look at Mitchell’s wrist which had swollen considerably. At that point it was determined it was likely broken and Mitchell was sent out to a local ER for x-rays and Sandberg was given the news.

I walked into the clubhouse with Jeff Schuler, a good friend and the beat writer from The Morning Call, the primary local newspaper. Jeff asked the first question and immediately wished he had deferred to me. The question was a simple misunderstanding. Schuler was talking about one particular play and Sandberg was thinking about a different play, the one he had argued violently about. The question went like this: “Why didn’t you argue the one play where…”

Sandberg didn’t wait for the question to finish. Instead, he opened up:

Sandberg: “I did argue the f___ing call! I got right in that greasy c__k-sucker’s face and told him to get the f___ing call right! I did argue the f___ing call!” While the other reporters and I were stunned, All Schuler could say—and continue to say throughout the interview—was “okay. okay. alright. okay.”

The tirade went on for nearly two minutes. The above phrases dominated Sandberg’s monologue and a few other descriptive words were thrown in along the way. The whole time, Sandberg, who was always extremely respectful with the media and everyone else he came in contact with, glared at Schuler.

As the number of f-bombs being launched began to slow, I was thinking about where do we go from here? Generally, I would have been next in line to ask a question and I knew nobody else was going to interrupt me for their chance. There was an awkward, silent pause for about 10-seconds. I swear, I literally couldn’t come up with a question that didn’t seem to be harsh, at least in some way. My buddy Schuler saved me with a question about Steve Susdorf, another player on the IronPigs who had been playing really well at the time and had doubled twice in the game.

“So, Susdorf’s swinging a good bat,” said Schuler in a demure way. As we all waited for Sandberg to respond, the answer came. “Yeah, he’s playing really well. He’s taking a good approach to the plate…” Sandberg answered as if nothing had happened. His voice was calm and had you walked in just at that moment, you would have thought nothing happened. The rest of the interview went that way. We all asked our various questions, Sandberg answered patiently and calmly. When we had finished, Schuler was the first to say: “See you tomorrow, Ryno!” “I’ll be here. You guys take care heading home tonight,” replied Sandberg.

The next day we approached Sandberg for our pre-game talk and were very tentative. As we turned our recorders on, Schuler looked at me to ask the first question. I asked for an update on Mitchell and Sandberg confirmed his wrist was broken and he would be out for an extended period. The pre-game session went off without a glitch and we all headed off in our separate directions.

Sandberg never spoke to any of us about the episode. I’m surprised that he didn’t offer an apology, at least to Schuler. It was just the kind of guy that he was. He never did bring it up and we were just smart enough to not bring it up, either.

It was the only time that Sandberg showed any irritation or raised his voice with any of us. Players told us they could hear him yelling in the clubhouse, which was about 50 feet and a closed door away from where we were. The general consensus from the players was: “you guys must have really pissed him off. He’s never gone off like that with us.”

It was one of those things that happens now and then between a manager or player and the media. The good thing is that it never affected our relationship with Sandberg and he continued to treat us with respect, except for that momentary lapse of sanity.

The next season Sandberg became the Phillies bench coach and a little more than a year after our “moment” with him he took over the team when Charlie Manuel was fired.

Philadelphia Baseball Events for March 28

• March 28, 1884 – During an exhibition game between the National League Philadelphia Quakers and American Association Philadelphia Athletics, umpire William McLean, reacting to fans’ taunts, hurls a bat into the stands, hitting but not injuring a spectator. McLean is arrested after the game, but the charges are soon dropped.
• March 28, 1901 – Philadelphia Phillies owner John Rogers files for an injunction prohibiting Nap Lajoie, Bill Bernhard, and Chick Fraser from playing for any other team – the most serious legal test of the reserve clause to date.
• March 28, 1978 – Greg Luzinski was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award for his community service efforts, including purchasing $20,000 worth of tickets for “The Bull Ring” to provide underprivileged children access to Phillies games.
• March 28, 1982 – The Phillies traded Steve Dunnegan to the Houston Astros in exchange for Dave Roberts.
• March 28, 2000 – The Phillies purchased infielder Mickey Morandini from the Montreal Expos, bringing him back for a second stint with the club.
• March 28, 2002 – The Phillies traded Reggie Taylor to the Cincinnati Reds for a player to be named later.
• 2003 – The Phillies played their final spring training game at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, falling 2-0 to the New York Yankees; the ballpark had served as their spring home since 1955.
• 2004 – The Phillies acquired pitcher Clay Condrey in a conditional deal with the San Diego Padres.
• 2008 – The Phillies claimed Tim Lahey off waivers from the Chicago Cubs and signed Chris Woodward to a minor league contract.
• 2011 – The Phillies signed free agent infielder Kevin Frandsen.
• 2018 – The Phillies traded pitcher Ricardo Pinto to the Chicago White Sox for infielder Dean Anna.

MLB Events for March 28

• March 28, 2014 – Major League Baseball and the Players Association agree to a number of changes that toughen the major leagues’ PED policy. The penalty for a first offense goes from 50 to 80 games, suspended players will no longer be eligible for the postseason or for full a postseason share, while the number of random tests will be significantly increased

ICYMI

• Philly Baseball News – Phillies Opener Comes Close to Script
• Philly Baseball News – Reyes Starts Strong in IronPigs Win